Module 2 - Unpacking the Self

Physical, Sexual, Economic/Material, Spiritual, Political, and Digital Self

Lesson 1: The Physical Self

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Describe how the self is impacted by the body;
• Explain the impact of culture on body image and self-esteem;
• Discuss the importance of beauty

Time Frame: Week 8

Introduction

The Physical-self-concept is the individual’s perception of themselves in areas of physical ability

and appearance. The self-concept is a schema that contains knowledge about oneself. It is primarily
made up of physical characteristics, intellectual, and aesthetic capacities and traits. This lesson helps us
have a better understanding of our physical self and assist in forming our own definition and concept of
beauty while learning to appreciate other’s perspective.

Activity
A. Identify from which parent you have inherited the following attributes.
Father Mother Both Neither
Height
Weight
Shape of Face
Eyes
Nose
Ears
Lips
Color of Hair
Skin Complexion
Feet size
Body size / structure

After accomplishing the above table, answer the following questions:

1. In terms of your physical features, who do you resemble more- your father or mother? How do
you say so?
2. In terms of temperament or disposition (quiet/loud, jolly/serious, impulsive/conscientious), who
do you take after- your father or mother? Explain your answer.
Analysis

Defining Beauty
Complete the sentences below.
1. For me, beauty means
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. A beautiful person is
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. I am beautiful because
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. List down five names of people you know who are beautiful.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.

Abstraction:

The Biological Blueprint

The physical self is shaped by biological and environmental factors
• Heredity
Refers to the genetic heritage or traits passed down by our biological parents. The traits are
made up of specific information embedded within one’s gene, the basic unit of heredity.

• Genotype
Refers to the genetic makeup of an organism which describes the organism's complete set of
genes.

• Phenotype
Refers to the observable characteristics of an organism as a multifactorial consequence of
genetic traits and environmental influences. Environmental factors that may influence the phenotype
include nutrition, temperature, humidity and stress.

• Maturation
Is known as the completion of growth of a genetic character within an organism or the unfolding
of an individual’s inherent traits or potential.

Environmental Conditioning

As you grow up, you are exposed to environmental influences that shape your physical self,
including those from your social networks, societal expectations, and cultural practices.
• Family
Being your first social group, forms a crucial foundation of your development, including that of
your physical self.
 As you grow older, you get exposed to a larger social group with new practices and standards.
As a result, you may begin engaging in acts that would make you attractive and acceptable to others.
One aspect of physical beauty is a person’s body type. Contemporary media has portrayed slim
bodies as the ideal body type for women and muscular bodies for men. Thus, adolescents indulge in
activities that would enable them to achieve these ideal body types.
However, some adolescents may resort to unhealthy habits just to achieve the ideal body type.
It is important to remember that physical beauty is only skin-deep; that what matters is feeling good
about oneself and embracing a healthy perception of one’s physical worth.

Achieving Physical Well-being

1. Healthy eating
Following a healthy diet result in healthy skin, ideal weight, and better stamina.

2. Embracing a healthy lifestyle

Physical activities such as walking, running, going to the gym, and engaging in sports also
contribute to a healthier body.

3. Maintaining proper hygiene

Taking care of your body by consistently following a hygiene regimen can also help you feel
good about yourself.

4. Being confident
Be secure in yourself, embrace a positive outlook toward various situations and problems, and
love and accept who you are.

A crucial aspect of the self is one’s physical features including the face, body structure, hair, skin,
and eye color, height and weight. The physical self also surpasses what can be seen by the naked eye:
underneath the skin is a dynamic system of biological and chemical responses that contribute to one’s
physical features. In addition, it is the physical aspect that is first considered when we are asked what is
beautiful or what we find attractive.

What is beauty? Beauty is appreciated differently through time, culture, and various perceptions
about the world. Every person is unique. We have different colors, sizes, shapes, heritage and roles.
Hence, our body is simply a shell that allows us to radiate our experiences where beauty gets to shine
through.

The nature of beauty is one of the most controversial themes in western philosophy. The two most
debated views about beauty are:
• Beauty is objective.
• Beauty is subjective.

St. Augustine believed that things give delight because they are beautiful. Plato asserted that
beauty exists in the realm of Forms, and that objects are found beautiful because they are a reflection of
the idea of beauty that already exist in the realm of Forms. Aristotle asserted that the chief forms of
beauty are symmetry, order, and definiteness that can be demonstrated by mathematical sciences.
Hume stated that each mind perceives a different beauty. Kant also believed that the judgment of
taste is not a judgment of cognition and is not logical but aesthetical, thus beauty is subjective.
Hutcheson shared the same view that the perception of beauty does not depend on external sense of
sight but on internal or reflex sense.

With over 3814 distinct cultures around the globe, and having their own standard of beauty, here
are a few examples of what is perceived as beautiful according to different cultures.

MAORI TRIBE
 Face Tattoos

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/162481499043114233/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/9k95ey/its-transformative-maori-women- talk-

about-their-sacred-chin-tattoos

Tattooing the chin and lips of Māori women of New Zealand is considered beautiful. This
tradition has been around for centuries, and consists of patterns called Ta-Mako in black or dark blue ink
on the woman’s face. Ta-Mako tattoos are also a public declaration of one’s membership in the Māori
tribe.

INDIA
 Henna

https://www.shaadisaga.com/blog/30-flaunt-worthy-back-hand-mehendi-designs-indian-brides-will-love?pd=492430&bv=2591

While Henna has become popular in the United States, it originated in India, and is a form of
temporary body art. Indian women wear Henna on their wedding day, and during certain religious
festivals as a form of decoration and beauty. Henna also indicates a higher social standing for Indian
women.
CHINA
 Foot Binding
Foot binding is the Chinese custom of applying tight bandages to the feet of young girls. This
binding severely limits growth of the feet, deforming them painfully. Foot binding became popular as a
means of displaying status (women from wealthy families, who did not need their feet to work, could
afford to have them bound) and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese
culture.

https:// openendedsocialstudies.org/2016/06/25/
foot- binding-and-the-standard-of-beauty/

SOUTH KOREA
 Heart or V-shaped Face
In South Korea, the current rage is undergoing plastic surgery to
make one’s face appear more heart shaped. This procedure
involves breaking the jaw bone into three parts, removing the
middle part, and fusing the other two together to create a
pointed chin. This face shape is seen as the most beautiful facial
structure on South Korean women.
https://mariamazeem143.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/heart-
shaped-face-south-korea/
AFRICA
 Scarification or cicatrization

http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php https://twitter.com/africanpotato_/status/614448665478959104
/permanent-body-arts/scarification.html

Scarification is popular in parts of Africa, predominantly Ethiopia and South Sudan, and can
also be found in Papua New Guinea. In these cultures, scarification is done with a knife to leave
permanent designs on the skin, and is done to both boys and girls as a right of passage into
adulthood. In Ethiopia's Omo valley, the Mursi, practice scarification for largely aesthetic reasons.
Both men and women create swirling dotted patterns on their bodies that may not necessarily mean
anything but which attract the opposite sex and enhance the tactile experience of sexual relations.

 Lip Plates

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6031177/Women-Ethiopias-Mursi-tribe-traditional-bottom-lip-plates.html

Lip plates are common accessories for women of the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia. Usually, the woman’s
top or bottom two front teeth are removed to accommodate the lip plate, which is out in during the
teenage years and gradually gets larger. The larger the lip plate, the more attractive the women is
considered.
 Full Figures
In Mauritania, females with full figures are
considered incredibly beautiful, and think women
are considered physically undesirable. Mauritanian
parents will even send their girls to “Fat camps,”
where the girls would eat up to 16,000 calories a
day to prepare for marriage. On top of that, stretch
marks are considered a bonus, and even more
beautiful.

https://fashiontone.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/beauty-standards-
around-the-world/

JAPAN
 Yaeba
In recent years, Japanese women have been hit with a craze for crooked teeth, called Yaeba,
which translate to “Double Tooth.” Women will go to orthodontists to have extensive work done to
make one’s teeth look more crooked and uneven. This is supposed to make women appear more
approachable, and thus more attractive.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/01/yaeba-japanese-double-tooth-trend-expensive-crooked-smile_n_2596720.html

THAILAND
 Neck stretching
Women of the Kayan tribe in Burma, and women in
Thailand have participated in neck stretching for
centuries. As young as five years old, brass rings are out
around the girls’ neck, and every year, more are added.
These rings can weigh up to 22 pounds, and the more
rings a woman has, the more elegant and beautiful she is
considered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kayan_women_Burma_1.jpg